Batavia, NY

Michael Ranzenhofer

As a partner in the Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC law firm, Buffalo Attorney Michael Ranzenhofer takes his responsibilities to the citizens of the Buffalo and WNY area very seriously. He grew up in Long Island, NY and received a B.A. (Magna Cum Laude) in 1976 from S.U.N.Y. Albany and a Juris Doctor in 1979 from S.U.N.Y. Buffalo. Michael Ranzenhofer was admitted to all New York State Courts (1980), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York (1980) and the U.S. Supreme Court (1985). He was a member of the New York Senate serving the 61st District for twelve years, and an Erie County Legislator for twenty years. He focuses on accidents and personal injury litigation.

Robert Friedman

Robert (“Bob”) Friedman loves sharing his knowledge of the law and 45 years experience as a New York attorney by writing books, blogs and newspaper columns; presenting seminars and webinars; serving on nonprofit boards; and mentoring law school students. He attributes his success to client education, community involvement, and a reputation for cost effective, practical solutions to legal problems. Friedman & Ranzenhofer, PC was founded in 1955 by Bob’s dad, Fred Friedman, a Holocaust survivor and U.S. Army veteran. Bob’s son, Justin Friedman (associate) joined the firm in 2018. Bob frequently lectures on how to avoid probate, asset preservation, and estate and nursing home planning. He is the author of numerous legal guides, including the Complete Guide to Medicaid in New York, NY Executor’s Legal Survival Guide, How to Survive Legally as a Landlord, The Upstart Small Business Legal Guide, and How to Form Your Own “S” Corporation and Avoid Double Taxation. He was real estate law columnist for both the Buffalo News and Courier Express. Bob was born in Queens, New York and has been a life- long Western New York resident. When not practicing law, Bob enjoys paddle boarding; and spending time with his family; German Shepherd Dog, Leo; and cat, Vinny. For 44 years, Robert (“Bob”) Friedman has assisted individuals, businesses and organizations to identify actual or potential problems and correct those problems before they become major crises. Bob has the unique experience of having successfully prosecuted over 33,000 dangerous and distracted drivers for 40 years as a Vehicle & Traffic Prosecutor. He was named 2003 WNY Prosecutor of the Year. He stopped a legal challenge to the constitutionality of the New York seatbelt law. As a prosecutor, Bob saw many personal injury car accident cases and distracted driver cases. Using his extensive knowledge of the NY Vehicle & Traffic Law and NY Transportation Law, Bob prosecuted dangerous truck drivers, dangerous bus drivers, dangerous motorcycle drivers and dangerous automobile drivers. These dangerous drivers endangered the lives of their passengers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and other drivers. As a prosecutor, Mr. Friedman learned how people are victimized by dangerous and distracted drivers. In learning how people were victimized, he learned how to best speak to people and the police. He learned that there’s a lot more to the story than what’s covered in the police report or in a traffic incident report. He learned to investigate and to look deeper.

Allan M. Lewis

Allan Lewis, Senior Partner and son of Norman Lewis, founder of our firm, has lived in the Buffalo area for over 70 years; 45 of those devoted to the practice of personal injury law. Allan’s success as a trial lawyer is unquestioned in the Western New York legal community. He has championed his client’s rights in all phases of legal proceedings, including a well-noted victory in New York’s Court of Appeals. Allan has obtained multimillion-dollar verdicts in cases involving medical malpractice, product liability, and motor vehicle accidents. He has had great success in the area of construction site accidents. By consistently putting in the time and effort necessary to obtain the best possible outcomes, Allan sets the standard for all of Lewis & Lewis’ attorneys. Allan’s breaks from the litigation world focus on time with family and his love of golf.

Michael T. Coutu

Mike Coutu has over 20 years of experience as an injury lawyer. He has successfully resolved hundreds of cases for his clients and has substantial court room experience at both the trial court and appellate level. He also has training and experience as a mediator and arbitrator. He has been honored to be selected by other attorneys to help resolve cases for their clients. As a former defense attorney, Mike particularly enjoys counseling clients injured through the negligence or fault of others. Our clients often have Workers’ Compensation and/or Social Security Disability claims in addition to personal injury cases from their construction site injury, injury on property, motor vehicle crash or injury due to a defective or dangerous product. It is only by helping our clients understand the relationship between all aspects of injury law that our clients can receive maximum compensation for their injuries. Mike is active as an educator and speaker regarding various personal injury topics and is a member of various bar associations including the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, New York State Bar Association, Western New York Trial Lawyers Association, and the Erie County Bar Association. Mike enjoys reading, traveling, spending time with his family and coaching youth baseball. He is active in youth sports, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and throughout the Grand Island community.

Sam Alba

Samuel Alba is Of Counsel with the Friedman & Ranzenhofer, P.C. law firm where he has worked since March of 2015. His practice areas include criminal defense, plaintiff’s personal injury, matrimonial and family law, plaintiffs’ class actions, municipal law and article 78 proceedings, labor and employment, and estate litigation. One of Sam’s representative cases is a wage and hour class action which settled for 3.1 million dollars in 2019. In law school, Sam was the president of the Jewish Law Student Association (2013-2014); and a member of two national trial teams and two Albert R. Mugel National Tax Moot Court teams. In addition, Sam is also the village attorney and a deputy village prosecutor in the Village of Depew. Previously, Sam worked as an attorney editor for Thomson Reuters (Westlaw) drafting New York State Civil Litigation guides for attorneys throughout the State of New York. Sam Alba is currently a board member of the U.B. Law Alumni Association’s G.O.L.D. (Graduates of the Last Decade) Leadership Group where he co-chairs the sponsorship committee and serves as the deputy treasurer. Sam is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Erie County Bar Association as well as a member of the Erie County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers’ Committee, Criminal Law Committee, and the Matrimonial and Family Law Committee. Sam is on board of the W.N.Y. Media Professionals where he sits on the committee working to restore the Broadway Sattler Theater located at the intersection of Jefferson and Broadway on Buffalo’s East Side. Sam is a past president of the Williamsville, P.T.S.A. Council, and was the youngest person to ever hold this position.

Emily L. Downing

Emily Downing earned her undergraduate and law degree from the University at Buffalo. Both her BA and JD were awarded cum laude. Her undergraduate degree in Communications prepared her well for both law school and lawyering. While in Law School, she was a member of the Buffalo Law Review and served as the publication’s book review editor. She interviewed with Lewis & Lewis during the Spring of her final year of law school, accepted our offer of employment and has been with us ever since. Although her studies earned her certificates in both taxation and environmental law, Emily chose Lewis & Lewis based on her desire to work directly with clients. She values the opportunity to help real people, with serious problems. During her two decades with Lewis & Lewis, Emily has worked in all aspects of our practice, including trials of serious personal injury cases. Her focus, and favorite job, is counseling injured workers and prosecuting their Workers’ Compensation claims. Emily is passionate about helping the “little guy” battle the big insurance company. As a working mother, she understands the difficulties of work-life balance, and the devasting effects a work injury or job loss can have on a family. Beyond her legal career and family, one of Emily’s proudest accomplishments is the founding of a club aimed at bonding friendship through charitable work. More than 15 years ago, Emily invited a group of her closest friends to gather for monthly dinners, and each month one of them would pick a charity or group in need of help. Over the years, “The Giving Chix” have donated thousands of dollars, pounds of food, bundles of clothing, books for children and a variety of other items to those in need. Emily is life-long resident of the Buffalo area and finds it essential to give back to the community however she can.

Jerry A. Gambino

We sadly say goodbye to our partner Attorney Jerry A. Gambino, who passed away in early June after a short illness. He will be missed by his family, his colleagues, and the WNY community he lived to serve.